


Klance and the Two Strings

by ScarletFauna



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Assassin Keith (Voltron), Galra Empire, Galra Keith (Voltron), Jealous Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Prince Keith, based off that movie Kubo and the Two strings, bear with me please, keith is temporarily a monkey, lance is cursed as a giant cockroach, seriously watch it it's amazing and literally an imagine your otp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-14 15:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9189389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarletFauna/pseuds/ScarletFauna
Summary: Disclaimer: I own nothingA child grows up in the sleepy village of Arus with a violet-eyed stranger named Keith. Over the years, his mind has become foggy and he has grown more and more distant, yet he still firmly forbids our hero from going out after moonlight for fear of the wrath of the Galra emperor, Zarkon. But one day, during the Kerberos festival, the child cannot resist the temptation to converse with the spirit of their deceased father, a legendary samurai named Lance, and stays out till dark-and pays the price. Now, they must begin an epic quest to recover their father's armor with the help of a sarcastic purple monkey and a wisecracking blue beetle-and learn some truths about their identity in the process





	1. If you must blink, do it now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our hero lives a quiet existence in a cave by the seaside with his guardian Keith. Over the years, the latter's mental health has begun to fail, yet he remaints adamant that the child never stays out after dark. They make a living by going to the local village, Arus and telling stories of his father, a legendary warrior named Lance who single-handedly challenged the Galra empire

For as long as I could remember, Keith was the one raising me. Although, considering his obvious deterioration of mental health in recent years, it seemed like the tables had turned to some extent. When I was little, I had the sense to ask him why he wanted to look after me, if he wasn't my family member. He always responded with the same simple statement. "I promised your father before he died" Since he never really made any attempt on elaborating, I assumed that he was friends with him in the past. Although, if I asked him now, he probably wouldn't be able to give me a clear answer if he wanted to. Most days, he seemed to have trouble remembering his own name. His purple eyes, once clear as water now seemed to be filled with stormclouds foreshadowing an ominous future. The only time they cleared up was when I practiced my storytelling skills on him. Before I went down to the village and shared my creations with the people there.

And today morning, as the first rays of the sun peeked out from the horizon, and as I gathered up my banjo and my scraps of paper, ready to leave our cave for this very task, I found myself turning a hopeful glance back towards his silhouette, praying that he would give me a smile, or even a friendly wave goodbye. But like always, he just sat stock-still, all his attention to the wall. In his more lucid moments, he'd specified that he liked to be positioned to face the opening of the cave, so as to watch me leave and return home safely. But thanks to my habit of being a late sleeper, if I wanted to make it to the square when it was at it's busiest, I didn't have time to yank him up, and direct him all the way to the front of the cave, while he did absolutely nothing to make it easier for me. Hopefully, he wouldn't be sound enough to yell at me when I came back.

I hurried down the path leading to the cave, and quickly maneuvered my way around the large, jagged boulders splattered about the beach below. By the time I got to Arus village, the sun was dancing dead center in the sky, and the village was packed to bursting with hustle and bustle. Thank goodness! It was always a good thing to perform with a large prospective audience. I quickly navigated my way through the stalls, trying to find myself in the center of activity. But not before I made a beeline towards one of them, who's vendor was a spry and lanky red-headed man.  
"Hi Coran!" I smiled  
Coran, (the vendor) beamed at me.  
"Hey child! Was hoping you'd show up!"  
"How else am I supposed to put food on the table?" I laughed.  
He leaned in eagerly.  
"Tell me that you're planning on finishing up last week's story" He begged.  
I grinned and shook my head, apologetically.  
"Sorry. But with an audience this large and fresh, I'm gonna start from the beginning."  
The redhead groaned.

"Well, can you at least work in a pack of singing yelmores?"

I shot Coran a skeptical look.

"Yelmores? Seriously?"

"Come on! Nobody likes a tale that's too dark and gritty! A touch of lighthearted comedy goes a long way in terms of balancing out a story! The audience will be throwing cash at your feet like you're wearing nothing but a..." It was at this point that he trailed off with mutters about how I was too young for that  particular blend of comedy. I sighed

"I'll think about it, ok?"  
"At least promise that you'll finish the story this time! I don't think I can go another day holding my breath!"  
I glanced at the sun, rapidly moving across the sky.  
"We'll see how it goes"  
Without any further ado, Coran began to usher me to the square.  
"Well don't waste any more time on me!" He scolded.  
"Hurry up and start strumming those fingers!"  
"Will do Coran"  
I hurried towards the center, and sighed with relief to see that my 'podium' (an overturned box that I used to amplify myself to the audience) was still there. As I placed my money-collecting cloth out before it along with the paper figures I had spent the last night painfully constructing, a hush fell over the commotion, as everybody quickly began flocking towards me. I took a deep breath and swallowed down my stage fight.

"If you must blink, then do it now!" I said dramatically as I strummed my banjo. Several children around me squealed in excitement.

"Pay careful attention to everything you see and hear, no matter how unusual it may seem" I continued, forcing my trembling insides to turn to steel at the sight ofthe rapidly expanding crowd.

"But please be warned", I added ominously, brandishing my pick at random woman in the crowd

"If you fidget, if you forget any part of what I tell you, even for an instant! Then our hero will slowly perish"

I stiffened my quivering fingers and began strumming rapidly, muttering my incantations under my breath, praying that I didn't mispronounce the wording. I must have done it correctly, because I got the desired result of one of my paper figures, an armored warrior springing to life, and jumping to his feet. 

"There once was a brave warrior who went by the name of Lance" I began.

"But his past was full of sorrow. He was the sole survivor of the Earth, a once powerful civilization that was utterly annihilated by the Galra, an army of  monsters who's ruler, Zarkon was the most evil and ruthless of them all! Lance took it upon himself to ensure that nobody else should have to suffer as his people had! He began a one-man quest to become voltron, a legendary wielder of a set of celestial weapons that were the only things capable of bringing down the Galra Empire once and for all!"

I turned my gaze to the audience and hoped that my music suppressed the quiver in my voice.

"Who can tell me the name of one of these weapons?"

"I can! I can!" Yelped a middle aged man, surprisingly sprightly for his age.

"The first one was the blaster, unbreakable!"

"Correct!" I muttered another incantation under my breath and one my sheets of paper flew in the air and within seconds, folded itself into a sleek, and slender gun. I proceeded to gracefully twirl my way over to a small, Arusian child sucking on her thumb, never taking my fingers off my banjo strings

"The second?" I asked her. She took her fingers out of her mouth pensively

"The...the...the lion...impen..impen"

"The lion, impenetrable" Urged her father, supportively

"The lion..impenetrabubble!" She cried, clearly proud of herself.

"And the third-"

"I know this one!" I turned to see Coran bouncing up and down, squeezing an Arusian woman who clearly did not share his enthusiasm.

"The helmet, invulnerable!"

I nodded before conjuring up a paper helmet with my magic.

"Zarkon, fearing for the safety of his empire should any man claim the title of Voltron, sought to stop Lance from finding the armor. He ordered his men to bring back his head, and commissioned his druids to create terrifying creatures of steel and machinery known as robeasts, should his soldiers be unsuccessful in their task!"

For the rest of the day, I painted pictures of the stories that Keith had told me with my words. The tales of how Lance defeated the ruthless cyborg, Sendak, and outwitted  Zarkon's conniving millitary tactician known as Prorok came to life, as they spilled from my lips, so real in fact, that I could almost hear the sounds emitted by Lance's blaster, and see the crimson blood cascading out of his battle scars. And as my words spilled out from my mouth, they made their way into my paper creations, who gave life to them before the audience. Their eyes shone with tears as Lance returned to find the Earth a  decimated wasteland, the massacred bodies of his people strewn carelessly all over the ground, the ground stained red from their blood. They gasped with anger as they realized the true infinite extent of Zarkon's bloodthirstiness. The air rang with their jubilant cheers as Lance severed the prosthetic limbs from Sendak's body with his blaster and tricked Prorok into attacking his own reflection from inside a well. Their stomach's vibrated with laughter as Lance sang in a quarter with a trio of yelmores (Coran's laughter, the loudest of them all)

"Lance was constantly raging with emotional turmoil. His soul was tormented day and night with the family he would never see again. His heart was as heavy as it was brave" I continued. By now, almost the whole village had gathered round.

"After many years, he was finally offered the chance to avenge his loved one's deaths when he was finally faced to face with Zarkon, himself"

I muttered the incantation, and a black and purple piece of paper folded itself up to take the shape of the reptilian-like emperor. The Lance figure held up his blaster, aiming for his head. With one final incantation, it was poised to shoot out a mass of confetti all over  Zarkon. I drew my breath, preparing to utter it when-

"CLANG CLANG! CLANG!"

The hourly ringing of the village bell jolted me out of my storytelling fervor. For a split second, I looked towards the sun, to check it's progression across the sky- and realized to my dismay that it had begun to sink below the mountains, leaving inky trails of pink and violet hues in it's wake. I forced my fingers to stop dancing across the strings and exhaled as the figures fell to the ground.

"Be sure to come back at the same time tomorrow to see what happened next" I concluded, as I swiftly collected my earnings, and the paper. 

The crowd collectively groaned.

"What happened next?"

"Why don't you ever finish?!"

"Just stay for five more minuites"

I uneasily eyed the bottles of wine that some of the observing fishermen had been helping themselves to upon returning from work. Afraid, it might tempt them into threatening me with violence into staying, I shoved my way through the crowd, and raced back to the cave. If Keith wasn't already  angry at me for leaving him facing the wall all day, my lateness would  certainly do the job.

The sun seemed desperate for me to get scolded, because the sky seemed to be darkening exponentially faster with each passing second. I had barely made it back to the cave when the stars began to sparkle in the sky. I was hoping that Keith would still be too zonked out to notice I had even gone at all, but my luck had a bad habit of running low whenever it came to him. He was waiting for me in the mouth of the cave, glaring daggers.

"You're late, kid!" He snapped.

"I told you not to be out past sundown!"

"Sorry!" I muttered as I quickly rushed to the perpetually lit fire by the cave and began to prepare supper.

"Can you tell me a story about Lance?"

The one good thing about Keith's illness was that his mood was susceptible to change just like one of my pieces of origami. It was easy to quickly reshape it into something else with just a few well-chosen words.

"Have I told you of the time he defeated Sendak?"

 "Nope" I lied as I stoked the fire.

Within minutes later, we were sitting by it, eating bowls of rice, as Keith narrated the story.

"And even though he was covered in blood, unsure if it was his friend's or his own, and even though every cell in his body hurt, Lance forced himself to remain conscious long enough to fire his blaster. His vision was blurred with pain, yet he could still aim precisely at the very junction of Sendak's shoulder where his metallic arm was fused to his body! Without his arm, Sendak was powerless and Lance's army defeated him within an instant!"

I grinned and tapped my knees together, gleefully. This was one of my favorite stories. No matter how many times Keith told it, it never got old. I had always assumed that this was the ending, as he usually stopped narrating after that point. Tonight however, he continued.

"As Lance's troops dealt with Sendak, I rushed to his side."

I raised one eyebrow quizzically. Keith had never mentioned that he was present during any of these stories, before.

"And as I cradled him in my arms, he looked into my eyes right before he passed out and whispered 'we did it. We are a good team'"

The look on Keith's face was not one that I had ever seen him wear in the past. While he always did seem happiest when telling me stories, I had never seen that particular expression. At first it seemed like he was just nostalgically reminiscing. But the more I stared at it, the more I began to wonder...

"This story happened before he met my mother, right?"

My voice seemed to jerk Keith back into reality and he blinked, as if just being snapped out of a hypnotic trance.

"Before who met your mother?" I gritted my teeth in frustration. Why did his stream of thought have to slip up now of all times

"My father, Lance!"

Keith squinted his eyes in frustration and touched his forehead.

"Um..yeah..of course...your father..."

He bit his lip for a few moments, and I could see him struggling to bring his memories to the surface before his shoulders slumped in resignation.

"I'm...sorry. I- I don't know."

He glanced at me hopefully, like how a dog hopes to still impress it's owner after failing to do a trick asked of it.

"Maybe...maybe I can remember something else?"

I sighed. I decided to just drop the subject for now. Keith had never told me about his little bonding moment before his mind started to fade. He probably had never intended for me to hear that part. Suddenly, I was swept up with a flash of curiosity regarding another matter.

"Keth... what was my mother like?"

He scowled.

"She was a member of a clan famous for it's sorcery. You get your banjo-playing powers from her. She died in childbirth. The marriage symbolized an alliance between Lance's army and her clan. Her father, the chief suggested it as a show of good faith, and Lance loved reminding his followers that he was interested in women every chance he got, so he was saying 'I do' before she even put on her veil"

Keith was ranting now and his words were becoming incomprehensible. I decided that it was best to change the subject before he got too worked up. I assumed that he and my mother did not get along too well.

 "What was my father like"

The shadows swathing Keith's face seemed to disappear as quickly as they appeared and he smiled softly.

"That's easy. Lance was a deadly sniper known for his precision and accuracy when it came to-"

"No no no!" I laughed.

"You've already told me all of that stuff! But what was he actually like when he wasn't fighting? When he was my father?"

Keith rolled his eyes

"He was a total show off and very reckless at times."

He shrugged

" _But_ he was also beautiful-er-handsome beyond words with a _kindness_ that touched the heart of _everyone he met_."

A wistful sadness crept across his face and he gently touched me own

"He gave his life in order to buy me enough time to get you away from the Galra Empire. Don't you _dare_ forget how much he loved you"

"But why did Emperor Zarkon want to take me away that night? Surely he wouldn't be so messed up as to hurt a baby"

Keith's gaze hardened and took on a slightly scary look against the dying embers of the fire

"Emperor Zarkon is nothing but a filthy monster! He doesn't even have so much as a basic grasp of humanity! Don't you _ever_ let your father's sacrifice go to waste by going outside after sundown. Don't you _ever_ do that because _if you do_ , then emperor Zarkon _will find_   you and he will _take you away_ and finish what he started eleven years ago. He will turn you into _a monster._ Do you understand me? _Promise me_ that you'll _never_ go outside after dark!"

I whimpered as he dug his fingernails into my cheek and nodded. I was definitely grateful to my father for sacrificing his life for me, but I couldn't understand how or why Zarkon hated him so much as to obsessively search for his child for eleven years, just to carry out a petty grudge. Was this how I was going to spend the rest of my life? Living in a cave, hiding from him?

 My train of thought was interrupted when I felt something soft nudge against me. Keith was holding up a fuzzy purple toy kitten against my face.

"Don't be sad, ok?" He said in a high pitched voice.

"Remember what you must do..."

I rolled my eyes.

"I have to keep you with me at all times, Miss Kitty"

"Aaand?"

"Wear my father's blue robe at all times too"

"Aaand?"

"Never stay out past sunset. I know _I know_ "

Keith put the charm down and gave me a hug.

"That's correct."

I sighed and snuggled against his warmth. He may not have been my father (I still had no honest idea of just what exactly he was to me) but he _was_ all I had.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For all you old school fans of Voltron, Lotor is going to make an appearance. He's Zarkon's son for all you new fans. He's the closest thing there is to a fan-favorite and he'll probably show up in vld, sooner or later

The next day, as I went down to the village, something seemed different. People were stringing up kinds of decorations all over the buildings, even the children seemed to be in a hurry, and all the women seemed to be wearing their sunday best. What was going on?  
"Hey you!" I turned around to see a familiar redheaded face beaming at me. I quickly rushed over.  
"Coran! What's going on?"  
He looked at me like I was crazy.  
"You don't know what today is?" He asked.  
"Surely you must be joking!"  
"Sorry. I'm truly clueless"  
Coran smoothed his mustache.  
"You really have been living in a cave all you life! Tonight is the night of the Kerberos festival. Where we honor the dearly departed!"  
Dearly departed? Was Coran talking about dead people?  
"What's it like" I wondered.  
He looked at me wistfully.  
"It's truly a shame you never stay past sundown, young'un. There's fireworks, singing, dancing. Not to mention feasting" He added, going in to tickle me playfully.  
"Cut it out!" I giggled as I squirmed at struggled to escape his grip.  
"But you know what the best part is?" Asked Coran once he finally tired of tickling.  
"Do you see those lamps and alters?" He asked, gesturing to a newly-formed stand selling colorful lanterns  
"We use those to speak to the loved ones that left us behind"  
Suddenly his voice took on a soft timber and his eyes became moist.  
"We hear their stories and help guide their safe return to the other side"  
My eyes were wide as saucers. I was only barely able to contain my excitement by clutching the em of my robe  
"IS that really true. Have you ever spoken to someone?"  
"I have indeed. My son*. His voice was as clear and loud as the one you use for your stories"  
He shot me a wry grin.  
"When he was alive, I had to pry words out of him like a clamshell. Now, I can't seem to get him to shut up"  
I snickered.  
"Do you have someone you wish to speak to, child?" Coran asked once my laughter died down. I nodded eagerly.  
"Well, what's stopping you?"  
I sighed and looked at the ground.  
"I don't exactly have a lamp"  
"Well can't you make one with that paper-folding trick of yours?"  
I cocked my head to the side.  
"I guess"  
Coran winked saucily at me.  
"See? I'm not just another pretty face"  
Then he helped me to my feet and gave me a gentle shove.  
"Now hurry along! There's still time before dark!"  
I nodded and hurried along after quickly uttering a word of thanks.

* * *

 

As I followed the Arusians holding lamps, I fought back the urge to clutch my own makeshift one to my chest with anticipation. After all these years, I was finally going to have a chance to speak to my father! I prayed to whoever was listening that my trembling fingers didn't tear the paper. In my hurry to finish my lantern before sunset, I had forgotten to ask Coran about the steps to carrying out the ritual. I decided to just watch the other Arusians do it.  They seemed to be carrying their lamps to a small riverbank near the local forest. I had spent my whole life on Arus, yet I had never even known it was there. Upon further inspection, I noticed that each lamp was placed in front of a small stone with some writing on it. I supposed that they were the tombstones of the loved one who their owner wished to converse with. Suddenly a wave of worry swept over me. If my father was buried there with the rest of the dead Arusians, I didn't know which specific tomb was his. Keith had always said that he had stayed behind to buy him time to escape with me. But he had never specified where exactly 'behind' was. I hoped that the tombstone part wasn't necessary. I honed my ears in to the conversation between an Arusian girl and her father, the former of whom seemed to be just as clueless as me when it came to the ritual.

"What do we do now?" She asked

"Now, we pray" The dad explained, kindly.

"We ask your grandmother's spirit to honor us with her light"

"Grandma, will you please honor us-" Blurted out the kid enthusiastically

"Softly! Softly!" Her father chuckled. At that moment, I would have given anything to switch places with that kid. But I didn't want to get caught staring, so I moved along and placed my lamp under a tree. That would have to be sufficient for now. I knelt down and put my hands together.

"Hello...father" I mumbled. I had spent so many years narrating the stories of his valor, when I was meeting him 'face to face', I had to forage for words

 "I...hope you're doing fine-or-as fine as you can be when you're a dead person." I suddenly felt incredibly stupid. Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration for a topic.

"Look!" I cried, holding up my arms.

"I'm wearing your robe." I put my arms down and clutched one awkwardly.

"I know it's not the best fit, but Keith won't let me wear anything else. He says I'll grow into it"

 I still received no response from the lamp.

"He also says that you were an incredible warrior, who sacrificed your life so that he could escape with me. Thanks" I was babbling now, and the lamp remained as unresponsive as ever. I decided that I might as well get to the point.

"Look, Father. I'm getting worried about Keith. With every day, he seems to get more and more.. hollow. Like an empty shell. He eats less and less, and he gets nightmares more and more often. I don't know how much longer it's going to be before..." I trailed off, unable to voice my fear. I decided that if my father was indeed here, there was no point in ending the conversation on that note, so I tried to appear positive.

"He talks a lot about you though. To be honest,I'm still not sure what the exact nature of your relationship with him was, but..." I shook my head. There were more pressing matters at hand.

"I'm afraid that he's losing his grip on reality. I...I don't know what to do"

I sighed.

"I just wish that you were here so that you could give me some advice. I'm starting to-"

"Daddy! She's here! Grandma's here!"

I turned around to see the small Arusian girl from before jumping up and down in excitement and the site of her newly illuminated lantern. My eyes widened. Was that the supposed to be the signifying call to a spirit's presence? I watched what happened next.

"Now it's time for the last part" Said her dad as he picked up the lamp and began to carry it over to the river.

"We have to help her return to Altea, the spirit world"

 "Aww! But she just got here!" Whined the child petulantly. I turned my attention back to my own lamp. Unfortunately, it was as dull and void of light as it had been when I made it

"Father?" I asked, tentatively.

"Are you there?"

I sat there for hours, waiting for the lamp to light up as all the ones around me did, one by one and got carried over to the river to float down  like boats. I sat for hours, waiting to for mine to be ready to join them. By the time the evening bell began to toll, I gave up hope and angrily got to my feet.

"Whatever!" I retorted angrily, crumpling up the lantern and tossing it by the river's edge.

"Screw you!"

Suddenly, I was overcome with a wave of guilt and instinctively retrieved it.

As I looked over the river, I realized that a full moon was hanging over it. It was nighttime. I barely had time for a shudder of shock to go down my spine at the thought of facing Keith's anger when I noticed all the lit up lamps floating along went out as if a gust of wind swept over them.

"Chiiiild!" An ominous voice that seemed to come from all directions resounded throughout the woods. I pulled my robe around me

"Little one!" A tall, figure was standing on the other side of the river. His long, silvery white hair seemed to be billowing behind him, yet there wasn't so much as a trace of wind. I was positive that he wasn't there the second before.

"Who are you!" I asked timidly.

"You can call me Lotor!" He responded in an ominously pleasant voice.

"And I've been looking for you for _so very long_!"

He stept into the moonlight and began walking on the water itself, laughing hysterically. As he got closer, I got a better look at his face. His skin was the shadeof an ugly, purple bruise. There was a long jagged scar defiling it. His ears were slim and pointed, and his eyes were like a reptile's, cold, and malicious. Like that of a hunter stalking it's prey. I didn't need any more evidence to know that this man was one of Zarkon's cronies. I turned and ran.

"What's the matter, child? Don't run away from your Uncle Lotor" I heard him protest. But the tone of his voice suggested that he was more than a little excited at the prospect of a chase.

"My father is so very eager to meet you"

Despite my fear, a question mark appeared in the back of my head. Was he talking about Zarkon? I turned my head long enough, to see him slice one of his forearms open with his long, clawlike fingernails. A bloodred vapor began to rise out of the incision in spirals and began rocketing towards me. Newly-found terror electricuted every cell in my body and I picked up a sprint, through the forest, praying that I didn't trip over a rock or bump into a tree. After what felt like an eternity of rushed, and crude navigation throughout the network of woods, I managed to find myself back in the village. I was hoping that I had outrun Lotor, but as I turned around, the crimson smoke was still making a beeline for me. Whatever it was, I knew it would be a bad idea to let myself get caught by it. The only place where I had even a chance of safety was the cave. I had to get back. I dashed through the village. A dance was currently going on but I didn't care.

"RUN EVERYBODY!" I shrieked, as I barreled thought the performers.

"HURRY!"

As the Arusians saw the sinister fumes, they didn't need much more encouragement. Unfortunately, trying to cut through the frenzied crowd as they scrambled to safety became a task in itself, and I was tossed left and right like a rag-doll in a storm. I managed to make it to the beach, but my luck ran out there as I tripped and fell. The mist managed to catch up with me in seconds. As I prepared for it to advance on me, I numbly reached for my banjo, looking for some security as whatever was going to happen to me, ocurred. To my surprise, somebody yanked it off my back. I turned around, expecting to see Lotor's triumphant smirk only to see the figure of Keith strumming down on the instrument with vigor. There was a flash of light and the smoke was pushed back. I watched as it Lotor materialized from it, with a look of exaggerated offense lathered on his face.

"Come now, Keithek! Is that any way to treat your _big_ _brother_ after a decade of estrangement?! I see your time in this garbage-pit of a village hasn't improved your manners for the better!" He simpered

Brother? Keithek? What was Lotor talking about? Keith didn't seem to notice my questioning glance as he pulled me into an embrace.

"Thank goodness you're ok!" He cried. Then he glared at Lotor as he laughed condescendingly at the sight before him.

 "Taken responsibility for the sniper's brat, have you?" He sneered.

"After all these years, and you still can't get over your pathetic devotion to that third-rate human!"

Ignoring Lotor, Keith turned back to me.

"Listen to me! You have to find the Voltron weapons!" He said, gripping both my arms.

"It's the only thing that can protect you now!" He held up his right hand and pressed it to my back. Immediately, my robes started to glow as brightly as the stars. The next thing I knew, it began to levitate, and me with it. My mind became swarmed with confusion and hysteria

"Keith! Wait! What's going on?! Don't leave me! **Keith!** "

I flailed pathetically at him, yet only succeeded in capturing a strand of his dark-brown hair. As I flew higher and higher, I watched him hurl himself onto Lotor with a cry of rage, the likes of which I had never heard from him before. Then, there was a flash of light- and everything went dark.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I read somewhere that in the original Voltron series, Coran had a kid who died  
> Be sure to leave a review, please!


	3. Meet Monkey

When I finally came to my senses, I felt like I was lying in freezing water, my head was spinning like a runaway top, and I could hear a vaguely familiar voice ramming into my skull  
I grunted and opened my eyes to find a furry, purple face peering over me. It took me a moment to register that it wasn't a human one.  
"AAH!" I yelped and scrambled backwards, as I got a full-bodied view of the creature. It was about five feet high, sitting on it's haunches, and it had a large pair of fluffy, bat-like ears that made up at least 1/6 of that height. It's almond-shaped eyes suggested the mere outline of an iris and a pupil, smothered underneath several layers of a soft yellow, the color of a duckling's feathers. It's fur was a dusty lavender, and it was covered head to toe in it. If I hadn't ever seen anything like it before, and I wasn't dizzy beyond measure, I might have considered it cute. That is, until it spoke.  
"KEITH IS GONE!" It mouthed over the roaring blizzard, I realized was enveloping us,  
"YOUR VILLAGE IS DESTROYED! BURNT TO THE GROUND"  
I yelped, partly from the shock of hearing the creature speak, and partly from the content of it's words.  
I turned around, trying to put some distance between myself and it, only to get swept back onto my backside, blinded by the force of the whirling snow. The creature seemed unfazed.  
"WE LANDED HERE IN THE FARLANDS! YOUR ENEMIES AREN'T FAR BEHIND!"  
I noticed something a few feet off, vaguely resembling my banjo. I quickly grabbed it, and saw to my relief that it was. I wondered if I could conjure a blast of light like how Keith had done fighting-  
Keith! That's right! Suddenly, all the events prior to my blackout swept back into my memory. Before I had even a second to process it, the creature was in front of me, again.  
Before I knew it, the creature was in front of me again.  
"You can start to get emotional later" It said firmly, but not rudely.  
"We need to move. Now"  
It got on all fours and looked at it's back.  
"GET ON!"  
I had no idea how this thing was going to be able to get us anywhere, what with the snow limiting our line of vision to two feet in front of us, but perhaps it's eyesight was adapted to this climate. Considering how the alternative was to sit and freeze to death, I leapt on it's back. I found that it's fur was ideal for keeping my hands warm in. Despite carrying me, the creature proved to be surprisingly sturdy, covering a considerable amount of ground with it's swift strides. But despite that, the wasteland seemed to go on forever, and based on relative motion, we didn't seem to be making any progress.  
After what felt like hours, I saw the shape of a massive structure in the distance. That seemed to be the creature's destination  
"Once you are inside, you may feel tempted to complain about the smell" It said.  
"Keep in mind, that my sense of smell is ten times that of yours"  
As we got closer, I realized that the structure was a massive animal's carcass. It must have been dead for a while for that thing to know about it's location.  
"What is it?" I asked, curiously.  
"They call it a Balmera" The creature replied, as it brought me in through it's mouth.  
Sitting inside, the decaying innards of a giant animal was as unnerving as you'd expect it to be. It was swarmed with flies and maggots, the bones were beginning to show, and the stench of the rotting flesh was enough to make me have to vomit several times.  
After I had successfully emptied all the contents of my stomach, and there was nothing left to make a reappearance, I returned to the purple creature. During my fit of puking, it had somehow managed to set up a fire and used what looked like a massive shell to brew some kind of a putrid-smelling hotpot, in. As I sat down to warm myself, it poured a helping into a makeshift bowl.  
"I guess that you have questions, huh?" It asked, sympathetically.  
"No kidding!" I retorted.  
"What-"  
"You get three" It interrupted.  
"I'm pretty sure I have more than that" I snapped  
"You get _three_ " It repeated, sharply, as it pushed the bowl of broth in my direction. Then his voice became gentle again.

"But why don't you eat first?"  
"Why only three?"  
"Ok, that counts as one" It replied, dryly.

"But wait-that's not-what's-going- _what are you?_ " I spluttered

The creature sighed, and pinched the bridge of it's surprisingly, human nose.

"You seriously don't recognise me?"

I shook my head. It rolled it's eyes.

"How about now?"

It curled itself into a ball, and adopted a dewy-eyed expression. I was hit with a wave of realization.

"You..you're"

"Keith didn't make you carry me around in your pocket all these years for decoration."

I couldn't believe my eyes

"You...you were a toy charm _this_ big!" I held up a space between my thumb and forefinger. I thought of how deep the creature's voice was.

"I-I called you _Miss Kitty!_ "

"And if I had been alive at the time, I might have found that offensive." The creature's voice was definitely not something you'd hear coming out of a girl's. He pushed the forelock in front of his forehead behind his ears.

"Keith used the last of his magic, to bring me to life"

At the mention of Keith, I brought my legs close to my chest. He must have sacrificed himself so that I could escape from Lotor. Why hadn't I just come back before dark like he always warned me? This was all my fault! I bit my lip, trying not to cry. I was dimly aware of Kitty's padded footsteps approaching me. I looked up as he put his paw on my arm.

"Eat" He said quietly.

I brought the bowl to my lips, but the revolting smell nearly made me capsize it.

"It smells disgusting!" I squawked between gags. Kitty threw up his arms

"Everything in here smells disgusting!" He said, exasperatedly.

"So I have to taste it too?"

"Yes. You do" He snapped.

"And that counts as your third question. Now listen up" He fell back on his haunches.

"I'm here to protect you, kid. And if I'm going to do that, you have to listen to what I tell you" He poured himself a helping from the pot

"If you don't eat, you'll be weak. If you're weak, you'll be slow. If you're slow, you'll die! Kapish?"

"But it's hot!" I protested.

Kitty responded by grabbing my bowl, and blowing all over it before shoving it back in my hands.

"Drink up!" His voice's tone clearly stated that that was the end of discussion. I was forced to resign myself to the task. Sure enough, the stew tasted as revolting as it smelled, but I got a gleeful kick by gurgling it as loudly and obnoxiously as I could. It always used to annoy Keith, and judging by the expression on Kitty's face as I swallowed the last of the contents, they shared that pet peeve in common.

"I don't think you truly understand the gravity of the situation" He snarled.

"This isn't one of your stories. That-that- _monster_ , Lotor, he doesn't need to eat. He doesn't need to sleep. He is a master tracker and he is looking for you _as we speak._ And _when he finds us,_ he's gonna kill me-and bring you to Zarkon, as his prisoner"

 

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"We're going to find your father's weapons. They're the only thing that can offer you a shot at protection" Suddenly Kitty's ears flattened and he approached me, in the manner that a cat approaches a mouse. For a moment, I wondered if he was going to pounce on me, but instead, he plucked something off my sleeve.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, softly. I shifted.

"It-it's Keith's hair. I think I accidentally plucked it when I was flying away. I didn't mean to"

Kitty held out his hand. I shied away. I know it was silly, but I didn't want to hand over the last thing I had left to remember Keith.

"Don't worry I won't keep it" He said, irritably.  Reluctantly, I handed the strand over. He folded it in half, twisted it, and tied it around my wrist.

"Keith was a sorcerer-more powerful than you can imagine." Kitty explained.

"He charmed your father's robe so that it would fly you to safety in your hour of need. He used the last of his magic to bring me to life. This bracelet" He said, pointing to it,

"It's a memory. And memories are a lot stronger than you realize" He resumed drinking his broth.

"Kitty, can I ask one more question? Please" I looked at him, pleadingly. He sighed

"What?"

"Do you know where it is? The weapons, I mean"

He shook his head, sadly.   
"Sorry. I'm not sure."

He looked up.

"Now go to sleep"

I submissively curled up by the fire, and watched the embers crackle  and dance until it made me drowsy. My dreams were a mesh of robotic lions, silver hair, and purple cats

 


	4. Meet Beetle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a series of playful pranks of monkey gone wrong, our hero finds themselves captured by a mysterious creature who believes that he was once their father's disciple . Can he be trusted? Or is his memory too foggy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I should probably warn you guys (If you've stuck along this far) that even though the narrator of this story is the child, it's told from a relatively omniscient pov, as shown in this chapter

"Kid! Wake up!"  
I woke up to find myself getting rather urgently shaken by Kitty. For the first time, since we had met, he looked nervous.

"What's wrong?" I muttered as I rubbed the grime out of my eyes.

"You were dreaming. And calling out to your Father" Lance said in a hushed voice.

"And then, some of the paper from your satchel, went flying out and folded itself into that" He pointed over to the mouth of the Balmera where a small, paper figure strutted from one end to the other, as if on patrol. 

"That's the paper Lance that I use to tell my stories!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, well it's been marching back and forth for hours. Observing us. I don't trust it"

I walked over to it.

"Sometimes, when Keith had nightmares, the paper would take origami shapes." I told Kitty.

"But they always unfolded when he woke up"

"I don't even think that counts as Origami" Said Kitty, as he peered at the figure suspiciously.

"I'm almost positive that I saw scissors involved"

Suddenly, the figure turned around, as if noticing me and Kitty for the first time. Without any warning, he produced a paper sword from his belt and pointed it directly out of the mouth. Kitty gently tried to pat it, only for Lance to swat him. He yelped licked his paw.

"That may be a paper-cut, but it hurts as bad as any sword"

Ignoring Kitty, I picked up Lance and positioned him so that the sword would point to one of the cave's walls. The moment I let go, he returned to his original position. Excitement began to make it's way through every cell in my body as I had a brainwave.

"Kitty! I think this was my father's way of answering my call! I bet that if we follow the direction of the sword, we'll find the Voltron weapons!"

Kitty looked at me like I was crazy.

"You're seriously suggesting that we put our faith in the hands of this paper doll?"

  I crossed my arms defiantly.

"We might as well! It's not like _you_ know where the weapons are!"

The purple cat-thing, groaned.

"This is a terrible idea"

However, he still got to his feet

"But it's the only one we have right now" He grumbled.

"Pack your things already"

* * *

Five minutes later, we were trekking across the snow. Fortunately, the blizzard seemed to have ended. This was a good thing, because otherwise it would have been impossible to leave the Balmera without paper-Lance getting blown away in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to move on foot. I had hoped that Kitty would let me have a ride again, nonetheless, but he had simply replied that as long as the sky was clear and we weren't in danger of being separated, I could make do. I was resigned to trudging behind him with  paper-Lance on my shoulder. I began to amuse myself by using my magic to create a paper swallow to emulate a real one that I saw flying overhead. I chuckled and laughed as the bird squawked in puzzlement and shock as it's doppelganger chased it around the pastel-hued morning sky. Eventually the bird flew off in desperation, and eventually it went beyond the reach of my magic. Had I made the paper bird go any farther, it would have simply reverted to it's original form. Not to be disheartened, I simply laughed and began to expand my melody, and muttered another series of incantations under my breath. This time, several sheets of paper went flying out of my satchel and transformed into swallows. Within seconds I had an entire flock swooping and soaring all around me1 I laughed and exclaimed happily, as I instructed them to fly in different creative formations, and then all around me in a twister consisting of a variety of concentric circles. I began to have so much fun watching the flurry of color surrounding me, that I didn't even realize that I was walking off a short cliff.

"Thud!"

I only fell a couple meters, and my satchel cushioned my fall. Paper=Lance was unharmed. Suffice to say, I still laughed giddily as the magic disappeared and the sky rained a shower of paper all around me. Not even Kitty's disapproving scowl peering from above the cliff could dampen my spirits. 

"You're growing stronger. No doubt about that" He said as he jumped down and began gathering my paper. I beamed proudly.

"I wouldn't be too pleased with myself if I were you, though" I continued as he pulled me to my feet, and put my paper back in the bag.

"You grow stronger, and the world grows more dangerous. Nature has a funny way of keeping things balanced. Wouldn't want it coming back to bite you in the-"

"Can't you ever say anything encouraging?" I sulked.

Kitty looked at me with a deadpan expression.

"I encourage you to keep up, and also not to get yourself killed" With that, he resumed walking.

I helped paper-Lance get back on my shoulder.

 _"I encourage you to keep up and also not to get yourself killed"_ I mimicked under my breath.

With the perfect shot of Kitty's behind, in front of me, I couldn't resist the opportunity to play a melody on my banjo. It was a simple one that I had learned as a kid. It turned one sheet of paper into a mosquito. But I couldn't help but feel a twinge of mild remorse as I played a tune to sent it nose first into Kitty's rear.

"Ahh!" He yelped, jumping three feet in the air. I barely had time to suppress the giggle that spilled from my lips as he did a perfect 180 turn in middair, glaring daggers at me. I tried  to look as innocent as I could.

"Mosquitos are so annoying aren't they?"

Not looking fully cleared of his suspicions, Kitty turned around. I breathed a sigh of relief. But that relief quickly turned to horror as a swarm of paper mosquitos rose out of my bag, all of whom set their sights on Kitty. I braced myself for what was about to happen next. But to my shock, Kitty swiftly, and and effortlessly gathered up every single one before they even landed on him. It was as if he saw them coming from a mile away. I sheepishly cowered as he marched over to me with fire in his eyes and stuffed the sheets back into my satchel

"Paper runs out" He said shortly.

"As does my patience"

"I'm sorry! I didn't ask them to do that!" I protested pitifully. Kitty shot me a look. It was remarkably similar to Keith's expression whenever I failed to come up with plausible excuses for coming home late, in the past.

"I didn't ask them to do that... _the second time_ "

"I told you. You're getting stronger. You need to learn how to control it. Concentrate on what you're doing. And most importantly, always remember..."

Kitty stretched out his haunches, revealing himself to be at my eye-level when he did so. He bared a set of sinisterly sharp teeth no doubt, more than capable of tearing the flesh off all my bones in a manner of minutes.

"Don't. Piss. Me. Off"

I gulped and nodded. My innards seemed to breath a sigh of relief when he finally backed off and kept walking.

* * *

 

After several hours, of following the direction of paper-Lance's sword, (which seemed to change more and more frequently with time) , we found ourselves near a massive, hollowed-out statue of a what appeared to be an old man with a long beard and pointed ears.  It was almost completely submerged in the snow, save for the head and a forearm brandishing a sword. But it was blatantly obvious that if completely uncovered, it could supply my entire village with adequate housing.  I climbed up the face and began to walk along the rim of one of the holes, meant to be his eyes.

"Be careful, kid!" Called Kitty from below.

"This isn't one of your stories"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"How do you know?" I called out, childishly.

"Maybe it is. Maybe, I'm the valiant hero. And you're the mean old, kitty-demon!"

 "Well, then heroes come and go!" Snapped Kitty as he turned to face the statue

"You should constantly be on the lookout for-" He stopped in his sentence. I was gone.

"Kid!" He called.

"Kitty!" My voice faintly echoed from within the statue. His eyes widened in panic, and with a mighty leap, he jumped into the statue, just in time to see a shadowy figure carrying me away. A jolt of panic rushed through his body as he raced after the 'kidnapper' at a breakneck pace. He followed the being throughout a network of shadowy tunnels until he saw him enter a brightly-lit 'room' As Kitty approached, he saw a malicious-looking shadow towering over my own. With no thought on my mind, aside from my well-being he bounded in, picking up a sharp object on the ground to use as a weapon, caring little for what it actually was. I smiled as I saw him enter, but that smile quickly melted off as I saw the ferocious expression on his face, and realized his intent for the long, femur bone in his hand.

"Kitty no!"

Kitty skidded to a stop, at the sight of me defending my kidnapper. His eyes beseeched me to explain

"He wasn't trying to hurt me" I said. My eyes flashed with excitement.

"He just wanted to take a look at paper-Lance!"

"Lance?" My kidnapper was currently on all fours, intently observing the paper figure.  He precosiously stretched out a skeletal finger in greeting. Paper-Lance eagerly shook it before scuttling up his arm and onto his shoulder. It was clear that he had taken a liking to the stranger. The latter in turn, grinned good-naturedly, and made all kinds of fascinated noises. 

Kitty curled up his face in disgust.

"Can I stab this weirdo, now?" I glared at him

"Why is your first reaction to everything always with violence"

"Well forgive me for not immediately cozying up to this-whatever-this-is"

I couldn't blame Kitty for referring to the stranger that way. He was as tall as a man, walked upright, and had a relatively humanoid face. However, the similarities ended there. His entire body was covered in some kind of an insectile  exoskeleton, complete with a helmet-like appendage with two horns covering every inch of his head, save his face. Not to mention the fact that he had four arms, covered in all-kinds of skeletal protrusions. To put it simply, if he  was unusual, then my kidnapper was just flat out bizarre.

"Lance, yeah!" He muttered, as he fiddled around with the paper version.

"I-I think I know him. I'm pretty sure..." He scrunched his face up in deep recollection. Suddenly, his face lit up.

"He must have been my master! He controlled a bright blue lion, and he was the most smooth stud you'd ever meet!"

He flashed me a cocky smirk

"Of course, I was probably waay more awesome than him with the ladies!"

I gasped. The stranger eyed me suspiciously.

"That mean anything to you, or something?"

Kitty leaped in front of me, on all fours.

"He doesn't have to answer any of your questions" He snarled

"He doesn't even know who you are!"

The stranger slumped his shoulders, dejectedly.

"That makes two of us"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kitty demanded.

"This is gonna sound crazy but...a long time ago, I was cursed." He adopted a rather dramatic pose..

"Cursed to spend the rest of my days wandering this dump, alone. Cursed (or maybe cur-sed), with no master. No adoring babes. Not even a name or a memory of the _noble....awesome....incredibly talented_ warrior I once was" He put his two left arms over his torso, and threw his right arms back, as though he were reciting a monologue. Kitty was far from impressed

"Geez. How long were you practicing that spiel to use on someone?" He muttered.

I, on the other hand, was amazed

"You were a warrior?"

The stranger grinned, clearly basking in the adoration.

"I sure was! And not just any sexy, badass warrior, either! I was a voltron cadet! I was training for the day that I would someday take over for my master as the voltron paladdin, a legendary wielder of a set of weapons almost as cool as yours truly!" His grin faltered.

"At least I think so- I mean I've got a lot of stuff-look I'm either a Voltron cadet* or a really bad hoarder. But either way" He swelled up his chest, proudly.

"Inside my heart (or is it a thorax?) beats the heart of a hero!"

*This is a reference to Voltron Force, the non-canon spinoff to the original series.

 At this point, I had gone completely dewy eyed. Kitty still circled him in a predatory manner, ready to strike at any given moment.

"How can you be certain of anything if you lost your memory?" He asked suspiciously.

The beetle-warrior scratched his head.

"Well, it sorta comes back to me. When I find objects like these" He gestured to the clutter of memorabilia scattered around the room.

"I get these sorta flashbacks-and sometimes they come from sounds- or smells."

Kitty sniffed disdainfully at the musky odor hanging over our heads.

"How has your memory not been fully restored, by now?" He asked, sarcastically.

Beetle huffed and crossed his arms.

"Well-how has your...um"

Kitty raised one eyebrow, as if daring him to finish his sentence.

"Go on"

Beetle, stammered and stuttered for a few minutes trying to find a suitable comeback. Eventually he was forced to settle for the classic

"You're a giant furry whatsamajig!" He beamed, proud at himself for the burn that he clearly considered to be ingenious and witty.

Kitty rolled his eyes and began licking his fur.

"Anyways" Beetle continued before sticking his tongue out at Kitty for further insult,

"These memories usually fade pretty quickly. I-I can't hold on to them. No matter how hard I try, I'm always left with nothing but the feeling that I was once a part of something greater than myself"

At this point, Beetle seemed to be lost in thought. I gleefully leaned towards Kitty. 

"Can I tell him? Please?" I whispered

"That's probably not a good idea"

"Oh come on! The poor guy spent so many years trying to recover his memories. It's cruel not to tell him"

"It'll just make him wanna tag along. Besides, it's not like knowing it will break his curse!"

"He has a right to know!"

"No he doesn't! End of discussion!"

"Knowing what?"

The two of us jumped. Beetle had apparently snapped out of his trance of reflection and had scuttled on over to our conversation.

"It's nothing at all-" Kitty started to say, holding up his femur, threateningly.

"Lance was my father!" I said smugly

" _Why you little-_ " Kitty squawked in exasperation.

Beetle was exhilarated.

"This is amazing! This is the best day of my life!" Before I knew it, he scooped me up and whirled me around, joyously!

"I have found the son of my master! Whoohoo!" He put me down, and approached Kitty with open arms. Kitty eyed him like he would, a dead body.

"I don't hug strangers" He said coldly. Beetle's spirits didn't seem to deterred.

"It's official! I am hopping on you guy's bandwagon and joining your quest!" He whooped. I clapped my hands and celebrated, too. Having him along seemed like it would make this journey a lot more fun!

"No!" Interjected Kitty.

"You are not coming with us!"

He leaped up on a table and shook his femur at him.

"You can't trust anything you say about yourself! Why should we? For all we know, you could really be one of Lance's enemies! And why shouldn't we think that? Can you deny that with 100% certainty? No you can't!"

Beetle scowled, and brushed the femur out of his face.

"Come on, Kitty!" I reasoned.

"Right now, our only ally is paper-Lance" I motioned to the tiny figure, currently trying to futilely free himself from a helmet

"And you even _said_ that Lotor is hot on our trail as we speak!"

I put my hands on my hips.

"Right now, we need all the help we can get! And who could be more helpful than a warrior!? (Even if he has no memory and looks like a giant bug)"

"Correctamundo, squirt!" Thundered Beetle in agreement.

"I can be helpfull.. essential even!"

 "How?" Demanded Kitty. Beetle tossed her another one of his shit-eating grins

"Just watch me, Tinky-winky!"

He scuttled around the dwelling, and returned with a bow, and a quiver full of arrows. He fired one of them at the wall.

Kitty didn't look fully convinced

"You expect us to believe that you can carry your weight with your mediocre archery-"

_whooshwhooshwhoosh!_

Kitty flinched as Beetle fired several more arrows in his direction, missing his fur by a hair's breadth. Every single one hit the exact same spot with terrifyingly incredible accuracy.

"That's amazing, Beetle!" I cried in awe.

He kissed his bicep (or the place where on should have been on his plated arms)

"I know right? And that was my first time in months! You know what nickname my skills earned me?" He boasted.

"Allright allright you can come!" Grouched Kitty.

"Just stop kissing your own ass or I'm gonna throw up"

"That's rich coming from someone who literally spends up to twenty minutes licking his own-"

"That's enough, you little punk!"

Beetle knelt at my feet pompously.

"Just tell me of our quest, oh son of my master! And I will demonstrate my wide variety of god-given, natural talents"

"Well, we're actually trying to find the voltron weapons that belonged to my Father"

" Got it! Tell me everything there is to know about these weapons! I will remain on the lookout for them 24-7, and never once stop to blink!" Beetle exclaimed.

"Of course, I'm not even sure if I can blink at all" He admitted, pushing his face close to mine.

"Do I have eyelids"

"Tell him while we move! Paper-Lance found a new path" Barked Kitty as he eyed the tiny warrior, pointing his blade in the direction of a ladder. I happily climbed it up. Beetle was poised to follow me before Kitty stretched his paw out.

"Let's make one thing clear" He hissed.

"The second your incompetence gets in our way, and I will scoop your insides out of that armor. Are we clear?"

Beetle dully nodded before he wandered up the stairs.


	5. The Blaster Unbreakable

As we walked on the path Paper-Lance directed us towards, the landscape became less and less snowy, and more lush with vegetation. Eventually, we were brought to a sinister-looking cave, shaped like a skull. Kitty barely had time not to tell us to touch anything when Beetle had accidentally broken off one of the boulders hanging from the opening. As we entered, I felt my spine turn to mush. The inside was far larger than the outside suggested. The walls were all lined with polished jade. If I hadn't known any better, I'd have assumed that we were in some kind of a temple. But it what was in the center of the cave that really caught our attention. Hanging in mid air, with it's palm flat, was a massive scarlet hand, it's fingers wickedly curved like the talons of a hawk. Lying in the palm, itself was a slim, gun, it's intricate patterns of azure contrasting starkly with the violently red hues of the hand.

"There it is!" Gasped Beetle.

"That's the blaster, unbreakable!"

"Don't get it yet" Warned Kitty.

"It's way too out in the open to not be a trap- _**are you listening to me?**_ " He snapped as Beetle scuttled forward.

"Just leave it to your man, Beetle to save the day!" He crowed

"Are you saying that it's not a trap if _you_ do it? What makes you that special?" Snapped Kitty

"What makes  me that special is that stealth, is _mah middle name_!" Beetle crowed.

_"You don't even know your first name"_

"Calm down, Mr. Wet Blanket" Assured Beetle as he scooped up the weapon, holding it triumphantly in the air.

"Aww yeah! The mighty and powerful Lance is victorious-as always!"

Then, the hand made a creaking sound, and tensed itself ever so slightly. That was all Beetle needed to shriek, jump off it, and run behind Kitty in less than three seconds.

"Way to go, mighty and powerful beetle"

"Oh, shut your quiznak"

"That doesn't make any sense"

"You don't make any sense, you purple furry cat-thing!"

"Is that seriously all you've got?"

"Ummm... _guys_ " I whined, pointing to the hand, as it levitated upwards.

"Can we save the arguing for later?"

As Kitty and Beetle looked around, they realized that the hand was not the only thing floating up. The entire cave was littered with bones. Bones which were currently rising towards the ceiling at a rapid rate. And once the last bone had risen into the murkey heights, the darkness was cut through by two bright, orange lights, briefly illuminating the outline of a demonic-looking robot, the size of a skyscraper*. Then the lights dimmed, and it began to move

"I-I don't got this" Whimpered Beetle.

"I DON'T GOT THIS!"

"Oh just give me that!"  Shouted Kitty as he grabbed the blaster from him, and ran towards the monster, wielding it like a sword.

"I INVOKE THE BLASTER UNBREAKABLE!" He roared as he bashed it against one of the robot's legs- only for it to shatter into a million pieces. Kitty stared at the remnants in brittle shock

"It. _..broke_?"

 "So maybe, they were just referring to the trigger.." suggested Beetle. He leaned over to me.

"For a magic gun, it's kinda meh"

 **"It's not the right sword you _idiot!"_** Kitty screeched as he retreated.

I was gripped with panic. This wasn't the right place! We were all doomed.  Suddenly, I felt a poke on my neck, jolting me out of my hysteria. I looked to see Paper-Lance pointing at the robot's head. As I looked up, there were several idols embedded on it. Upon further inspection, I realized what they really were.

"YOU GUYS! THE REAL ONE IS ON THE ROBOT'S HEAD!"

  
I shouted that just before the robot grabbed ahold of Kitty.  Beetle tried to help her by firing a barrage of arrows at it. His endeavors were all in vain, unfortunately.

"ENOUGH WITH THE ARROWS!" Kitty shouted as one narrowly missed his fur. As the robot brought him closer to it's mouth, he managed to reach for the top of it's head and wrench to blasters loose. Both shattered as he smashed them against the robot's hand.

My heart was beating so fast, I was sure it would beat out of my chest if I didn't come up with a way to save Kitty. Beetle clearly didn't have a clue of what to do aside from uselessly firing more of his arrows. Out of sheer despair, I resorted to the only thing I knew how to do. I reached for my banjo and began muttering the first incantation I could call to mind. Within seconds, a flock of paper swallows erupted from my backpack and to relentlessly attack the robot's face. While they didn't seem to do much more damage then beetle's arrows, they did seem to succeed in annoying it enough to make it wave it's other hand around and clumsily march around with less coordination. Unfortunately, this made me even more susceptible to getting squashed under the massive chunks of metal that were it's feet. I tried to maneuver my way around the robot, but it was no easy task to do so while playing the swallows currently distracting him from eating Kitty.

Eventually I was forced to stop moving in order to catch my breath for one minute- only to find it's food coming straight down on me. I shrieked, and braced myself for impact. One second passed. Then another. I tentatively opened one of my eyes-and found myself levitating off the ground. 

"Beetle!" I squealed in relief.

"I didn't know that you could fly!"

My rescuer grinned.

"Neither did I. I'm so awesome that I continue to shatter my own expectations of awesomeness on a daily-"

 _ **"CAN YOU PLEASE STOP STROKING YOUR INFLATED EGO FOR ONE MILLISECOND AND FIND THE STUPID BLASTER!"**_ Howled Kitty, still struggling to escape from the robot's grip.

"Oh. Right. Sorry" Beetle apologized as he tried to fly up to him. Unfortunately, the true extent to which he struggled to control his newfound ability became further demonstrated as he crashed into the robot's head, breaking several blasters in the process. Him and me began to furiously extract the guns and bang them against the robot, while at the same time trying not to fall off.

"Are you sure that the blaster isn't called something else?" Wailed Beetle as another one cracked in his arms.

"Like maybe the blaster, unfindable?" Suddenly, the robot reached up and grabbed him, as well. Now it was up to me to find the blaster. But the next thing I knew, I was hurled from it's head, and rapidly heading for a cave wall.

_Whizz_

One of Beetle's arrows pinned my robe to the wall, protecting me from falling to my death. But the fabric was rapidly tearing. Within seconds, I'd be floorbound.

Just then, Kitty let out a bloodcurdling yell and wrenched himself out of the robot's grip. He leaped upward hoping to catch me, but the robot got to him faster. As he struggled to free himself a second time, my robe gave way, and I was falling...

_Thunk_

As luck would have it, the robot was positioned in a way so that I fell straight onto his head. I forced myself to quickly resume my task of finding the blaster without checking to see if I was in one piece. As Kitty and Beetle were brought closer and closer to it's mouth, I grew more and more desperate. I stopped trying to let the looks of the blasters sway my decisions and yanked out any which one, my hands closed around. Right before the robot closed it's mouth around Kitty, I managed to pull out the last blaster of the bunch. With despair and pessimism pervading my soul at that point, I was almost positive that it would smash on impact

Only when I dashed it against the robot's head, it still remained intact. I had found it... _I had found it!_

 As I prepared to use it to fire at the robot to save my friends, I realized that it had gone completely still-and it had been ever since I pulled it out.

"Whew!" Sighed Beetle.

"Thank goodness that's over"

Beetle barely got the words out before the entire structure collapsed. I was inches away from the ground before he scooped me and Kitty up and flew us out of the cave.

 

 

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The robot is supposed to represent a robeast, one of the sentient warships that Zarkon keeps sending after the voltron gang

**Author's Note:**

> So I seriously suggest watching Kubo and the Two Strings before you read this fic. It's an amazing movie and the story will make a lot more sense.  
> The child is not non-binary or anything. Their gender is never referred to because they, themselves don't have much of an identity so as to not detract too much from the main theme of klance. I'm a firm believer that OC's should not hog the spotlight of fics and I don't usually include them in my stories.  
> The mother is loosely based off of an alien girl talking to Lance in a leaked screencap of season 2. I don't know if she'll end up with Lance in canon, but I liked her design.


End file.
